Integrating service-oriented design projects in the engineering curriculum

Engineering curricula are undergoing continual advancements. Faculty seek to apply new techniques and strategies to interest students, to address their diverse backgrounds, and to achieve a balance between theory and practical, hands-on applications. One area of advancement is project-centered education. To provide students with realistic applications, projects are being used as an instructional vehicle. The extent of the projects depends on the type of course, ranging from support projects in analytical courses to backbone projects in design courses. No matter where a course falls in this range, a key question in project-centered curricula is the type of projects that should be used. In this paper, we propose a service-oriented strategy for choosing projects. This strategy provides a number of advantages to students and faculty. These advantages are described in the context of basic implementation principles and four case studies. Results are shown for an undergraduate design methods course, an undergraduate capstone design course, two graduate-level product development courses, and a Masters of Science research project.

Integrating service-oriented design projects in the engineering curriculum Conference Paper